Why We Pull In Episodes

There are specific spots in which we prefer to pull.

Eyelashes especially, when we have pulled out all of them, there is nothing left to pull. We are forced to stop pulling because we can't. How can we pull lashes if there are none left?

For many it's similar for the scalp. Many prefer to pull on the crown, where the roots are harder and stiffer. This makes pulling more pleasurable and much easier. Once we have developed the bald spot due to hair loss, all we can do is rub the empty skin, and temporarily we break the habit of pulling in that area....because there is nothing left to pull.

For sufferers of OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) the therapeutic method used to break the habit is called exposure. The compulsive act to do whatever is it we have programmed ourselves to do (in this case, pulling) has to be stopped by exposing ourselves to the anxiety we get when we don't participate in this habit. Instead of compulsing, we sit in the anxiety that makes us want to pull. This method teaches the body and brain that eventually the anxiety will go away (after reaching it's peak) and it wasn't necessary to pull in order for that to happen.

Almost all of us relapse, however. Relapsing is nothing to be ashamed of. It's how the brain works. Once it habituates itself to a routine that it believes is good (this includes almost everything from sexual habits to eating habits), then it will want to repeat it simply for the good result (in our case, stress or anxiety relief). It's all with good intention.

If pulling made us feel really good even once, the brain will remember that should similar emotions arise, pulling could be of some help. So every time we are anxious, the brain automatically induces the urge pull because it has been known to rid us of stress.

How we get into the habit, or develop it, is a different story however.